One Dough = Three Different Cookies

This could be one of the most genius ideas I've had in a while: take one cookie dough, make three different cookies. Sure, someone else out there has probably thought of this, but not me. And if you haven't either, get on it! You will fool your friends and family into thinking you slaved away in the kitchen all day long.

Here's the deal: take a very simple drop cookie dough recipe and mix away. Once it's complete, divide the dough into three parts and flavor each part with something different. In this case, I used chocolate chips, oatmeal and raisins, and citrus zest. (Feel free to get creative here.) Voila, instant cookie platter.

Drop Cookie Dough

- makes 45 cookies (15 of each flavor) -

About the author: Jenny McCoy is the pastry chef at A Voce in New York City. When she's not covered in flour or frying bomboloni, you can find her strolling the streets of Fort Greene, Brooklyn, with her little dog Olive.

One Dough = Three Different Cookies

About This Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

For Chocolate Chip:

1/2 cup chocolate chips (I like to grind mine in the food processor to make them tiny)

For Oatmeal-Raisin:

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons rolled oats

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons raisins

For Citrus:

Zest of 1/2 lemon

Zest of 1/2 lime

Zest of 1/2 an orange

Procedures

1

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

2

Line three baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

3

In the bowl of stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, set on medium speed, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy-approximately 5 minutes.

4

Add the eggs and vanilla extract and continue to mix one minute.

5

Add the flour, baking soda and salt and continue to mix until well combined.

6

Divide the dough into three equal parts in separate mixing bowls.

7

Add the flavoring ingredients—chocolate chips, oatmeal and raisins, citrus zest—to each bowl and mix with a rubber spatula until well combined.

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About the Author

Jenny enrolled in the Baking and Pastry Program at Chicagoâs Kendall College, just after graduating from high school, on a whim. Knowing she wasnât ready to enter college proper, she decided, âIf I like baking, Iâll have a job; if I donât, Iâll know how to make great birthday cakesâwhereâs the harm?â Lucky for Jenny, she fell in love with the kitchen and landed positions in a variety of Chicagoâs top restaurants, including Charlie Trotterâs, Blackbird, Gordon and Bittersweet Bakery. It was in these kitchens where Jenny learned to refine her palate and develop her talent for composing seasonal desserts.

Following her formative experiences in fine dining, Jenny took a brief hiatus from professional baking and traveled to various countries in Europe, South and Central America to broaden her culinary vocabulary. With an interest in food beyond the kitchen, she also returned to school and completed a BA in Food Writing at DePaul University.

When Jenny returned to the pastry kitchen, it was in New Orleans. There, she had the opportunity to oversee three restaurant pastry departments for Emeril Lagasse, as well as contribute weekly to the Cooking Blog at Emerils.com. While working at Emeril's Delmonico, Jenny was a nominee for the PastryScoop.com Best Dessert Menu Award in 2006. It wasnât long, however, before she felt the pull of New York Cityâs vibrant culinary scene; she moved north a few years later.

Since her arrival, Jennyâs worked in New York City as the opening pastry chef at Marc Forgione, and for A Voce, where she ran pastry operations for both their Madison Square and Columbus Circle locations. She then moved on to work for Tom Colicchio at his flagship restaurant, Craft, where she was influenced by her varied pastry background and knowledge of ingredients and flavors. In September 2011, ten years after Craft opened, she helped the restaurant earn its second three-star review from The New York Times. She was also awarded the 2011 NYC Rising Star Pastry Chef Award from StarChefs.com.

Currently, Jenny is a chef-instructor at The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE); just published her first cookbook, Desserts for Every Season; is the co-chair of The Center for Advanced Pastry Studies (CAPS) at ICE; volunteers to help change school lunch programs in the NYC Department of Education with Wellness in the Schools; and is eagerly awaiting the launch of her online class series at Craftsy.com. Jenny also consults with small food producers to help them commercialize their products for grocery store sales. Throughout her career, Jenny has appeared in many print and media outlets for her work as an authority in the baking and pastry industry.

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